Way of the Kendoka
by MoonDragonLove
Summary: She was not the ideal Kendo student for the National Champion, but she had a certain spunk to her that was obvious to anyone. She thought she was merely learning, but Toshie was unknowingly teaching her senpai a thing or two about love.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_To mold the mind and body. _

_To cultivate a vigorous spirit,_

_And through correct and rigid training,_

_To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo._

_To hold in esteem human courtesy and honor._

_To associate with others with sincerity ._

_And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself._

_Thus will one be:_

_To love ones country and society;_

_To contribute to the development of culture;_

_And to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples._

That was the way of the Kendoka and it was what drove the red-haired Toshie Kamio to push herself to be the best she could be. Kendo was the only way she could ever prove herself to seemingly anyone. Not only did she feel the need to prove her worth, but she also want to simply improve herself. She knew that she didn't always have the best attitude and that she could be pushy and obnoxious, but that was why she decided to start practicing Kendo when she was only ten and getting in trouble at school for talking back.

Even her Sensei was a bit apprehensive about her joining the dojo at first, but when she admitted that she wanted to learn the discipline and she would try as hard as she physically could and even harder, he knew that he couldn't turn her away. Though there were days that he wished he had, a majority of the days were good and Toshie was a good addition to their dojo. Her and her Sensei had developed a bond and he became like a father to her. At least more of a father than her actual father was.

And that's what made her having to tell him that she was moving hard. She didn't want to leave her dojo behind and as she left, she swore that though she was going to look for a new one in her new city, she'd always consider that one home. What had surprised her about that day though, was that she saw her Sensei actually cry as he promised that he would give the dojo closest to her new house a call and tell them she was on her way. "They'll need the extra time to prepare for your large personality," he had said.

In her new house, in her new town, in her new school, and especially in her new dojo; she felt like an outsider that was attempting to creep her way into the crowd made up of everyone else. People were already familiar with each other and everything around them while she still had to figure it all out.

But no matter where she was, whenever she would put on her _bogu* _over her _kendogi**_ and _hakama***,_ Toshie felt as if she could do anything.

* * *

><p><strong>*Bogu- protective armor<strong>

****Kendogi- like a jacket**

*****Hakama- a garment seperated in the middle to form two wide pant legs**

**On a side note, a Kendoka is a person who practices Kendo :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Well this is a new idea that has been floating around in my head for a little while and I just had to write it down~<strong>

**Thanks for reading~**

**Megan :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I had gone back into the school to my history book that I had left behind in my locker. As I made my way back to the middle school buildings to help out with the middle school Kendo club, my friend and classmate, Oki Yuasa, grabbed me by my arm and started pulling me away from the door. "Hi Toshie! You're coming with me!" She shouted over her shoulder. I was tempted to just stop moving and make it harder for her to pull me, but that would probably just end up getting me hurt.

"Oki! Where are you taking me?" I asked her as I tried not to stumble over my own feet. Sometimes I wondered why we were such good friends, it was probably because she was the first one to talk to me in class when I came to Ouran four years ago. And besides the members of the Kendo club and the middle school members, she's still one of the few people I do actually talk to.

Oki didn't say anything more as she continued leading me through the large winding halls and that really annoyed me. It was probably the most annoying thing about my friend. "If you don't tell me where you're taking me, I can _easily_ get out of the hold you have on me," I said none too nicely. She stopped and I ran into her back from the suddenness of it.

"I thought that Kendo stuff was supposed to make you 'always aware'?" She teased.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "I was never much good at _Kakari-geiko _during practice." Oki stared at me like I was speaking gibberish and I guess to her I was. She was a dancer, not a Kendoka. Her technical terms were as foreign to me as mine were to her. Though hers are mostly in French, which is a foreign language, but that's beside the point. We have different interests, but I think our similar personalities are what bring us together at times.

She pointed to the door that I hadn't noticed was behind her. I looked up at the sign above and narrowed my eyes at her. "Come on Toshie! You'll have fun, I promise," she said as she once again took my arm. Oki opened the door and started to pull me through, but being the resourceful person I am, grabbed onto the only thing I saw that I could. That thing happened to be the door frame. "Why are you being so difficult?" She asked.

"Why can't you just accept that I have somewhere to be?" I retorted. Oki stopped pulling and looked at me with her sad eyes. "Don't even think about giving me that look, you know it doesn't work on me."

"What seems to be the problem here?" A voice asked. I turned my head to see the famous Tamaki Suoh standing before us with a red rose in hand.

Oki looked at him with a smile and a blush that I rolled my eyes at. "There's no problem at all, Tamaki-senpai."

I scoffed. "Yes there is! I need to be at the middle school…" I looked up and around for a clock. I really need to invest in a watch. I found the clock and nearly fainted at how late I was. "Almost fifteen minutes ago!" I pulled against her and only succeeded in pulling Oki to me. "Please let go?"

"But Toshie," she whined. She stopped there and let go of me as Suoh-senpai gently took ahold of her chin. I had to remember to thank him the next time I saw him, but there was no time now! I slipped out of the door and started down the hall.

"Bye Oki! I'll see you Monday!" I called behind me as I ran with my bag clutched onto my shoulder.

I made it to the school dojo in less than ten minutes (which is actually a considerably fast time taking in account how far apart the two points wee). "You're late, Kamio," Sensei said as soon as I walked through the door.

I bowed to him. "Please forgive my tardiness, Sensei. I was… held up." He gave me a skeptical look. Though he had no reason to be skeptical, I had never been late before, he was just a paranoid old man. In all actuality, he wasn't that paranoid; he was just strict and didn't like his students late by even a mere second let alone nearly a half hour.

"As in you had to fight off ten men all twice your size and triple your rank?"

I shrugged, "I wish it had been that easy. It was worse, I was being held up by a teenage girl. They're made of pure evil, I tell you." Sensei didn't like my sarcasm, but he didn't understand that in that instant I was being almost completely serious.

"Just get changed. Morinozuka has been waiting for you so he could begin the part of practice that you offered to help with." I bowed to him again and jogged into the changing room quickly changing out of my yellow uniform. I carried my _tenugui*_ and _men** _with me as I left the room and joined up with the others.

Satoshi Morinozuka (Kendo club captain) waved me over to him with a smile. "Kamio-senpai, I was beginning to think you were ditching us!" He called when I was halfway to him. I laughed as I made it to him and shook my head.

"I could never do that!" I said in mock horror of the thought. I turned to face the others as he started explaining why exactly he had needed me to be there.

He clapped his hands together and everyone faced him instantly. "We're going to do some _Hikitate-geiko _ is why Toshie Kamio-senpai from the high school is here today." I smiled to them all and bowed slightly, as did they.

This was exactly the thing I always looked forward to after a long day of classes. Teaching others has always been a specialty of mine no matter the subject. Unless it was something that involved creativity in any sense of the word really; I was more of a concrete thinker than an abstract one.

Practice went on for another hour before everyone was told to hit the showers and head home. As I changed, I looked around and realized that I was the only girl in the girls changing room. In the high school club at least there were two other girls. I was a little disappointed that more girls didn't participate in Kendo, but it wasn't as if I could force them to start. I showered quickly and put on the extra change of clothes that I always carry with me for after practice.

As I walked out, I saw Satoshi talking with Sensei and then they both looked over at me and froze in my tracks at the sight of Sensei smiling. It was a sight I had never seen before. "Kamio, I need to speak with you." Yeah, that sentence really made me feel better. With a deep breath, I started toward them with a smile and tried to act like I was freaking out about something I may have done wrong.

"Yes, Sensei?" I asked with an even voice. He looked at me curiously and it only made me all the more nervous.

"Where did you learn your techniques? I always thought they were a bit different, but I never really realized how different until you were teaching them to the others," he said simply. He didn't sound angry, merely curious.

I smiled. "From my first Sensei, Junichi Saga. He used to say that his methods were a bit unorthodox, but that they were effective."

Both Sensei and Satoshi nodded in agreement. "That it is. You could have easily won the championship a few years ago… If only you were more disciplined."

My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. I shook my head and gave him a look of disbelief. "There's no way I could have beaten Morinozuka-senpai!"

Sensei nodded. "You're right. You couldn't have and you still can't. You don't have his discipline, as I have already said. That's why starting next week, you'll be training under him for the next few months."

I stared at him blankly. My mouth wasn't able to form words that weren't complete and utter nonsense. Morinozuka-senpai was going to train me? That just sounded ridiculous to my mind. He was the best around here, in the entire country maybe even on the entire planet! I was only second to him, there was no reason he should even consider taking me on as a student.

"I told him that you would meet up with him today when you finished up here," Sensei added, pulling me out of my thoughts. I nodded and with a bow I headed out of the dojo.

It was nearly dark out now and I was tired and still had a crap load of homework to do. I didn't really want to have to go all the way back to that stupid host club just to tell him that I got the message about him training me. It seemed counter-productive to me, but it would be worse to question Sensei. "Kamio-senpai!" I nearly jumped at the sound of my name.

I turned around to see Satoshi running after me. "Hey Satoshi-kun. Do you need something?" He caught up to me and shook his head.

"Nope, I just figured I'd go with you if you were heading to talk to my brother since I was going there anyway. That way neither of us has to go alone, you know?" It amazed me how he could say so much without needing to take a breath. I laughed at him slightly and turned once again as he fell into step next to me. "Thanks for helping out today, too. I was a little surprised that you were the only one that volunteered. Usually there are at least a few others."

I nodded. "I know. I thought it was weird too, but I'm glad that I was able to help. I'd gladly do it again if you ever want me back."

We talked all the way back to the third music room and this time I went in willingly and without having to hold on for dear life. "So when he brings you, there's no struggle? Not even a small one?" Oki said sounding heart-broken as she hugged me tightly.

I rolled my eyes at her and crossed my arms even though it was a little difficult with her still holding on to me. "I wouldn't have struggled had it been any day other than today, Oki."

She let me go and pouted before taking my hand and practically presented me to the seven hosts that were spread around the room still even though it was well after club hours. Oki cleared her throat causing everyone to look. The blond was the first over to me and he took my hand as he offered me a rose that resembled the one from earlier. "Dear princess, how sweet it is that you have joined us at our host club."

"Even though it is after hours." I looked up at the boy with glasses that everyone in the school would know even if they had never actually seen him before. It was the same with all of the boys in this club. No matter whom you were, what year you were, or what class you were in; it was impossible not to know who these seven were.

I pulled my hand away from Suoh-senpai. "It's nice to meet you all, but I'm only here to ta-" Satoshi cut in before I could finish and if he were anyone else, I probably would have yelled at them about it, but I actually like him.

"She's here for you, bro," he said as he pulled me toward his brother. I lost my footing and stumbled into Takashi Morinozuka. I righted myself as fast as I could and took a step back before looking at Satoshi.

"You didn't have to pull me," I told him. Then I looked up at Morinozuka-senpai. "Uh, Sensei said I had to meet with you about training and whatnot."

I felt arms go around me; one over my shoulders and the other around my waist. "Are you sure," the first voice said.

"That's the only reason you're here?" I crossed my arms and looked at the twins who had their arms on me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath instead of hitting them upside their heads. "Please take your hands off of me."

"Why should we?" They asked simultaneously.

I opened my eyes and decided to ignore them as I went back to talking to Morinozuka-senpai. "Anyway, as I was trying to say, thank you Morinozuka-senpai. It will be an honor to train under you." And by honor, I meant that it probably won't work out too well especially considering the fact that we are very different people. I doubted we'd even get along well enough to get a little training done.

"To-chan, you're really going to train with Takashi?" Haninozuka-senpai asked from atop the taller boys shoulders. I looked at him and gave a small nod.

"I should really be getting home now. I'll see you Monday after school, Morinozuka-senpai." I started to turn around and head for the door when those three little words made me freeze in place. He was seriously joking, right?

"Tomorrow, seven a.m."

I turned around and looked at him with disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking. How the hell and I supposed to get here that early?"

He simply looked at me as he said, "You're not," without any emotion behind it. Satoshi nudged me with his elbow and I looked at him.

"You were supposed to just say okay. It was a discipline test," he said happily, as if I hadn't just failed.

"What do you mean 'discipline test'?" I turned around to look at all of the voices that had asked the question. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to compose myself. It should have been obvious that he wasn't serious.

I reopened my eyes and nearly everyone in the room was looking at me still. "You see, I may not have the best temperament. Sensei thinks that Senpai will be able to teach me how to be more disciplined for the championship tournament in a few months."

The small brunette, Haruhi Fujioka, cocked her head to the side. "Championship tournament?" I always wondered why she was the only girl in the school that got to wear the boys' uniform… and why all of the girls seemed to think she was a boy. She looked nothing like a boy to me.

I nodded in response, but Satoshi answered. "Yeah! Kamio-senpai is the second best Kendoka in all of Japan! Right behind my brother. So Sensei and I made a bet that she could beat my brother if she learned to be more patient!" I turned my head slowly as I looked at him. I hadn't been informed that it was a bet.

"YOU TWO BET ON ME?" I shouted at him.

Satoshi shrugged. "It was Sensei's idea. He said you could be Takashi easily. I said you couldn't and it just went on from there. We told Takashi about it earlier and he wasn't mad."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "What did you guys bet?" I asked more calmly than I felt. Satoshi smiled and let out a laugh. I held up my hand to stop him before he started to tell me. "No, I don't want to know." I looked up at Senpai. "Monday?" He nodded and I let out a sigh of relief as I turned to leave once again.

Oki followed me out and hooked her arm around mine as she rambled on about how lucky I was to be able to spend so much time with Senpai. I didn't see the luck in it. These next few months were going to be interesting to say the least, but not nearly as exciting as Oki thought it was going to be.

* * *

><p><strong><em>*Tenugui <em>- a towel that is tied around the head to catch persperation and to also help with the fitting on the men**

**_**Men _- protects the head, shoulders, and neck. Also has a metal guard to protect the face.**

**_Kakari-geiko - _Short, intense, attack practice which teaches continuous alertness and readiness to attack, as well as building spirit and stamina.**

**_Hikitate-geiko - _Practice where a senior kendoka guides a junior through practice.**

* * *

><p><strong>Well hello there~ It's nice to see all of you wonderful people. Thanks for reading and leave a review if you like. I know it's a little tedious right now, but it should pick up probably during the next chapter.<strong>

**Megan :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Try it again," he said. I rolled my eyes as I turned around to go back to my start. Morinozuka-senpai and I were in the middle of _kata_ training and he was supposed to be the _uchidachi_, but if you were looking at us you never would have guessed it. Though _kata _isn't even a major part of the art of Kendo (and is only really used when preparing for _dan_ grading), Sensei started the day with pulling me away from the others and toward my 'new Sensei' as he put it and threw us each a _daito_ and a_ tachi _telling us to get a move on.

I turned to face Senpai and sighed slightly. I understood that he was only trying to see how long it would take me to complain about it, but I wasn't going to complain even once about anything. We each turned to where Sensei was sitting as he watched and bowed before facing each other and bowing once again. We placed our swords in our waistbands on our left hips and the rest of it was a blur to me. Everything was so slow and had to be so precise or something bad could happen.

Senpai moved a little faster than I had and before I knew it there was a sharp sword right in front of my face nearly touching my nose. My eyes crossed to look at it and I nearly growled in frustration. "Okay! I get it! I only lasted twenty minutes of this before complaining!" I shouted.

"You weren't focusing. Had I stopped any later, you would have been hurt," he said. As if I didn't know that! _Kata_ wasn't exactly the safest of exercises in the world it's caused many injuries and I wasn't ignorant to that.

"I'm not an idiot, Senpai. And I was focusing!" I replied. That was a flat out lie, though. I knew I hadn't given it my full attention and it was only because it's so boring. I understand that it helps everyone, but the way Senpai was going through it, it was like my brain was going to start oozing out of my ears from lack of use.

He merely looked at me before saying, "Again," and returning to his original stance. I sheathed my sword and returned to my place as well. I focused as well as I could this time and still ended up with a sword in my face. I couldn't believe that Sensei was saying nothing about any of this.

I faced the man that was sitting on the floor. "Are you going to say nothing about this?" I asked with a hint of an attitude forming. Sensei shook his head. I guess it should have been enough that he was the one that was betting on me and not against me, but it really wasn't. If anything, I think my discipline is only going to get worse the longer I have to be around Senpai. It's only been a week, but it feels like it's been so much longer.

Sensei stood up and approached me. "Kamio, you have too much anger in you. More than you did just last week." He seemed to think over his words and my actions of the day. I could have sworn that I saw a light bulb go on in his head as he came up with the worst plan I had ever heard. "I think you two need to spend time together outside of the dojo."

I shook my head as hard as I could and my hair nearly fell out of its ponytail. "I don't think so," I said simply as I saw Senpai merely give a small shrug. He was always so indifferent to everything! It aggravated me. I wanted to see just one thing that he had an actual passion for. Even Kendo seemed to be just a routine he went through.

"Well it doesn't matter what you think, it's going to happen. If it doesn't, I know someone who can change your mind." I narrowed my eyes at Sensei. Sometimes that man gave me a really bad migraine with how cryptic he could be. I couldn't think of a single person that could change my mind.

Then Satoshi showed up and I groaned. That's who Sensei was talking about. "You said you needed me, Sensei?" He asked with a bow to the man.

Sensei nodded. "Please tell Kamio exactly what you think is going to happen at the championship tournament." Before the boy could say anything I placed my hands over his mouth. I didn't want to hear about how sure he was that Senpai would beat me. Again.

"Fine. I guess it won't kill me…" As I thought over that, I felt the need to add, "As long as he's not holding anything sharp and potentially life threatening anyway."

Sensei smiled and looked at Satoshi with almost a smug look. It made me wonder what they had bet, but again I realized that it was probably better that I didn't know. "Then you two go and bond a bit," Sensei said as his way of dismissing us. I nodded and headed to get changed.

I showered quickly and then took my time as I got dressed in fresh clothes. My clothes consisted of: a black skirt, black thigh high socks along with my favorite black buckled boots, and a white off the shoulder top. I looked in the mirror as I put on a thin red belt that hung loosely around my hips. Just to add a little more time, I brushed out my hair three times and then pulled it up into pig tails. When I walked out of the changing room, I saw Senpai leaning against the door and with a smirk I started walking toward him.

He looked up and my smirk disappeared. "Sorry that took so long, I was having a little trouble with… girl stuff." He didn't say anything about it, but I was a little curious as to what he thought that meant. We headed out of the dojo without another word and once outside, I was a bit surprised to see Haninozuka-senpai sitting out there waiting on a bench.

"Hi Takashi! Are you finished already?" The smaller boy asked as he stood up and made his way over to us.

Senpai nodded. "Yeah." Haninozuka-senpai climbed up to his shoulders and got himself comfortable before looking at me.

"To-chan! What's it like to be Takashi's student?" He asked meaning to be polite I'm sure. I shrugged and followed along behind them as Senpai started toward the main building.

"If I say what I really think, I might end up getting my nose cut off…" I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. As I glanced up, I saw him giving a strange look as if he was trying to uncover some secret meaning behind it. He didn't ask me anything else, instead he started talking to Senpai about the host club. I couldn't even go longer than an hour without hearing about that stupid club.

Then it hit me and I stopped walking. "Wait. Are we going there now?" Senpai stopped and looked back at me. "Because if we are, I'd much rather go home."

Unsurprisingly, he said one word. That one word was encouragement enough to make me start walking again, however. "Satoshi," he had said. I stared at the ground as I grumbled to myself about how I'd rather go home and do my homework than go to the host club. And that was really something, I never wanted to go home and I never wanted to do my homework.

As soon as we walked through the doors, the girls there instantly greeted the boys and I simply stayed by the door hoping everyone would just forget that I was standing there. I had no such luck. Suoh-senpai ended up seeing me and instantly made a repeat of the last time I was there just over a week ago. "Dear princess, how sweet it is for you to once again visit our humble host club," he said as he dipped me gently and offered me a rose. "Please forgive my rudeness, but I seem to have not asked for your name last we met."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and replied, "Toshie Kamio." He started asking me about what type of host I was looking for and I zoned out. I started to think about Kuri, my kitten. She's just the cutest little thing even though she's technically not a kitten anymore since she's five years old. Kuri's completely brown from the tip of her nose all the way to her tail, I love that even her eyes are brown.

"Princess?" I shook my head as I heard what had probably not been the first time he was trying to get my attention. I hadn't heard what he had said, so I simply nodded my head just as I always do when I don't know what's going on. He smiled brightly and led me over to a couch where there was already one other girl sitting and others sitting on chairs around a coffee table. I instantly wondered what I had just agreed to.

Suoh was saying something about each of the girls as they asked him something and I stifled a giggle that bubbled up out of seemingly nowhere. Everything he was saying sounded so ridiculous! How could any girl fall for those lines? One of the girls looked over at me and I simply gave her a small smile in return as I leaned back and crossed my knees. I closed my eyes and I must have been more tired than I thought.

Because the next thing I knew, I felt someone poking my arm and say, "Is she still alive?" It was Oki, but I didn't really want to let her know that I was awake. I reached up my arms and wrapped them around her neck, pulling her to me and adjusting my position slightly. "Let go of me you creep!" She said as she started wiggling. "Seriously, I gotta get home." I released her and opened my eyes.

"See, when you say you have to go, I let you. I don't drag you in the other direction." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Are you saying you did that to teach me a lesson? You of all people!" I nodded and she smiled. "Maybe you should follow your own example," she said teasingly before leaving. I looked around the room and all of the girls were gone and Suoh was sitting in a corner sulking.

I stood up and looked at him. "Is he okay?" I asked anyone willing to answer. Ootori showed up next to me along with just about everyone else.

"He will be. Tamaki's just not used to having guests fall asleep while he's hosting," he explained as he wrote something in his notebook. I nodded slightly and went over to Suoh, kneeling when I was right behind him. I placed my hand lightly on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Suoh-senpai. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just been a long day." He turned around to look at me and was instantly up and acting as if nothing had happened. I fell backwards and simply sat in that spot on the floor. If I had to deal with that every day, I'd probably learn to keep my mouth shut just like Senpai.

"Toshie?" I looked up at Fujioka and smiled at her. "Are you alright? You fell kind of hard." I nodded and took her offered hand.

"I'm fine, that little thing was nothing. Thanks for being concerned though." I was going to leave it at that, but then I just had to ask the inevitable question. "Fujioka, can I ask you something?"

She nodded and gave me a small smile. "Sure, go ahead."

"Why do you let all of the girls think you're a boy?" I didn't really know how else to word my question so it didn't seem completely rude. "I mean, as entertaining as it is for me to listen to all of the girls in my class practically drool over you, I'm just really curious."

Arms went around me and pulled me away from where I had been standing by her. The twins placed me in a chair and looked at me with near hostile looks. "How do you know about our Haruhi's little secret?" They asked together.

I shrugged and was about to say that I could just tell, but I thought it would be more fun if I made something up first. "Well, I've followed her home a few times and I've just fallen so in love with her," I placed my hands over my heart, "and everything about who Haruhi is, I just couldn't hold back my knowledge anymore." I looked over my shoulder at her and winked.

"Please tell me you're joking," I heard her say.

I laughed and nodded. "Of course I am."

"Then tell us who you've told," one of the twins said. Though I'm really not too sure which one it was.

"Uh… me, myself, and I?" Suoh showed up in between them and looked over at Ootori.

"Track those three people down at once!" He ordered. The other boy just stood there and looked at him like he was an idiot. And I had to agree completely.

"Let me try this again." The blond looked at me. "I have told no one. I will tell no one. Why do you think I didn't say anything before, I didn't want to mention it in front of Oki."

The twins and Suoh backed off and went to consult with the other hosts about something. They left Haruhi and me alone to stare at them in confusion. "Does this happen often?" I asked her. She replied with a sigh and a nod. "I'm so sorry."

The six make hosts turned around and Suoh pointed at me. "To keep you from spreading word of Haruhi's true gender, you will now be a host!" I stared at him with absolutely no expression on my face.

"But I'm a girl," I said simply. The look on his face and the way he dropped his hand told me that he obviously hadn't thought of that. He turned back around and consulted some more. I stood up and stretched my arms up over my head as I let out a yawn. That little nap I had taken really made me tired.

He turned around again. "Then you'll have Haruhi's old job."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "And that job was what exactly?"

He smiled and pointed at me once more. "From this day forward, you will be the host club's dog!"

I scoffed and started toward the door. "No way. There's nothing keeping me here." I placed my hand on the doorknob and was getting ready to walk out of that door.

"Do you want people to see these?" I turned around to see Ootori holding a handful of pictures in his hand. I didn't know what they were of, but I could only guess. The twins looked over his shoulder at them and smirks covered all three of their faces.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You realize that blackmail is a criminal charge and worthy of jail time." I would never admit to just anyone how I know that law so well, but let's just say that a member or two of my family has fallen victim to the law more than once.

He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. I wasn't really too sure if he knew I was going to say that or not, but I was curious as to how he would handle it. "But you see, I'm too young to go to jail. Also my family is the law." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You're too cocky for your own good."

"Then you wouldn't mind if everyone saw how Mori-senpai won at the championship a few years ago." That perked my attention. I remembered that day all too well. We were the final two contestants and with one misstep, I lost. There were pictures in all of the papers of my fall and they were something I never wanted to relive again. With a sigh, I uncrossed my arms and stepped away from the door.

"What will I have to do exactly?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. He smirked once again. I was kind of actually scared of this guy.

He explained that I'd basically have to do all of the little things that no one else wanted to do such as clean and run errands. Without a word of how I felt about being pulled into that unwillingly, I left and headed home.

I hated going home at the end of the day. It was always so big and so empty. Sure there were a few maids here and there and the chefs, but they weren't who I wanted to see when I got home. I wanted to see my parents actually glad to see me for once. There was no way that was ever going to happen though and I've known that since I was a kid.

Once in my room, I dropped my bag on the floor and took another shower to wash myself more thoroughly than I could after practice and then I put on my pajamas before brushing my hair and pulling it back into a braid. Rarely did I ever actually turn on the ceiling light in my room, so I walked over to my floor lamp and switched it on so the soft glow lit the room.

Picking up my bag with a small yawn, I went to my desk and pulled out my homework to finish before I went to bed. As I worked on my English, I couldn't help but smile softly as I thought of how crazy the members of the host club were. "Maybe it'll work out, Kuri," I said as I pet the chocolate brown cat that was laying in the self of my desk.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Uchidachi <strong>_**– the role of a teacher and also on the 'losing' side thus allowing the student (or **_**shidachi) **_**to learn and gain confidence**

_**Kata **_**– (I have no idea how to explain this correctly. I would suggest googling it or something. Sorry ^^') Also, I placed a link to a youtube video of **_**Kata**_** on my profile page, so if you want to see it it's there for anyone to view**.

**_Daito_ and _tachi_ are swords used in _Kata._**

* * *

><p><strong>I want to thank Escape to Ouran for being an amazing person and helping me out when I needed it because she's simply wonderful~ And thank you to everyone for reading, it means a lot even if you don't like it, but I won't know unless you review, right? ^^<strong>

**Megan :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I seriously wanted to kill all of them except Haruhi and Haninozuka-senpai. Running ridiculous errands and tending to all of the guests while the hosts did nothing was really starting to get on my nerves and it had only been two weeks. "Toshie, could you bring some more tea to these lovely ladies?" Suoh said with a snap of his fingers. I poured a cup of tea for each of the girls and a few extra in case someone wanted one before or after I had made it there.

As I made my way to where they sat, I nearly trip over the shoes they were making me wear. Honestly, I couldn't believe that they had made me where a 'special' outfit for my job. It was more of a maid's uniform than anything and if I hadn't been forced to wear it, I would have thought it was cute. There was a simple white peasant dress that hit just above mid-thigh and a black bell-sleeved jacket that laced together with a black ribbon across my stomach with black two inch heels; my own touches were white thigh-high socks and a black ribbon that I tied around my neck.

I placed the tray of teacups down on the table gently and offered the girls each a small smile as I handed then their tea. "Thank you, Toshie," one of the girls from my class said. I gave her a nod and I picked up the tray to head back to where I had been sitting doing my homework.

"To-chan, we're almost out of cake," Haninozuka-senpai said as the girls swooned at his cuteness. I placed the tray down and headed toward the room where all of the snacks were kept to get a tray full of a variety of cakes. Though I made sure to put on an extra strawberry cake for him.

"Here you go," I said as I placed the cakes on the table. He smiled at me and said thanks as he started on the new piece of cake in front of him.

"You make a cute maid, Toshie," I heard Oki tease. I looked at her as she sat next to Senpai. I really didn't know why she was so fond of him at all. He didn't really even do anything except sit there and occasionally say something to his cousin. Sure he wasn't bad looking, but other than that, there was nothing to him.

I stuck my tongue out at her just as Ootori came up behind me. "That's no way to treat one of our honored guests," he said nearly giving me a heart attack in the process. I hugged the empty tray to my chest during my fright, but I didn't say anything to either of them. "Apologize, Toshie."

I glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're kidding." He simply looked at me as he pushed up his glasses in a way that I had learned meant no good was coming. I bowed my head to her, "Please forgive my rudeness, Princess." Oki nearly spit out her tea when she heard me, but she kept herself composed enough to swallow and then laugh. I turned on my heel and muttered, "I hate you so much Ootori-senpai," as I passed him to see if Haruhi needed anything.

She looked up at me as I approached her and she gave me a smile. "Hey Toshie." Her smile dropped a little as she said, "I'm really sorry that you have to do this on account of me though." I held my hand up to stop her there before the comments of her guests made me gag.

"You're so thoughtful, Haruhi!"

"He's so chivalrous!"

And other variations of the two.

I understood the thoughtful comment, but I didn't quite see how he was being chivalrous. The intelligence level of the girls in this school seriously worried me. "Does anyone need anything?" I asked with as pleasant of a smile as I could muster. Everyone shook their heads no and I couldn't have been more relieved.

There was a gasp and then I heard, "Kaoru! Are you okay?" I turned my head to see who I thought to be Hikaru holding his brother's hand and then placing the fingers that had been burned by the hot tea that I noticed was dripping onto the floor. I sighed and headed off to get a towel to wipe it up with. As they continued on with their act that I wasn't completely convinced was just an act, I wiped up the spilt tea.

I went to stand up and I ended up hitting my head against the underside of the table. With my hand holding the back of my head, I stood straight up to see all of the girls and the twins looking at me. "Sorry, I'll get out of your way."

One of the twins started toward me before I had a chance to walk away and he placed his arm around my waist. "You hit your head pretty hard," he said sounding almost concerned. His brother showed up next and put his arm around me from the other side.

"And it was all because I knocked over the tea," he said. Well at least I knew who was who now. I wanted to break out of their hold, but Ootori specifically said that if any of the hosts pulled me into their act, I had to go along with it.

Without the sigh that I wanted to give them, I easily forced a tear to run down my cheek. "D-Don't worry abo-about it. I'm fine." Kaoru wiped my tear away and all of the girls went crazy for his sensitivity. They let go of me and I walked away rubbing my head. It had actually hurt pretty badly. I glanced up at the clock and let out a sigh of relief as I realized it was almost the end of hosting hours. I only had to get through another twenty minutes of running around.

As soon as the last girl left the room I kicked off my shoes and decided to walk around in just my socks until I went home. I went to where all of my books were at on a table and sat down, closing my eyes and rubbing my head gently. The headache from hitting it wasn't even close to being the worse I'd ever had, but it wasn't what I needed right then. Something cold went onto my head and I looked up to see Morinozuka-senpai placing an ice pack on it. "That looked like it hurt," he said as an explanation.

I nodded and let him put it there. "Thanks Senpai."

"We really are sorry about that," I heard their voices say. I turned my head slowly and glared at them.

"But frankly, we thought you'd be smart enough-"

"To know that the table was right over you."

No matter how much my head throbbed, I wanted to smack them both really hard. I held the ice to my head as I stood up and turned toward them. "Have either of you experienced the pain of get-" I was cut off by Oki picking me up and spinning me around causing the ice to fly out of my hand.

"I can't believe you actually apologized and thanked someone today!" She said in a tone that reminded me of an overly proud parent on a TV show. She put me down, but she had only made me feel dizzier. "If I knew you had manners in there somewhere, I would have suggested that you join the host club ages ago." I hadn't really registered what she had said; I was too busy trying not to throw up from being dizzy. I walked –stumbled really- over to my bag and pulled out my glasses case and my contact case.

It was the one thing that usually helped when I had a headache. I took out the contacts and put them away before slipping on my glasses. "Okay, Oki. I have no idea what you said after you spun me." Haninozuka-senpai stood in front of me with a concerned look.

"You don't look so good, To-chan. I think you should sit down." He took my hand and led to me one of the couches and made me sit down. He sat next to me and held up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I smiled slightly. "Three." He smiled as I answered correctly. It was a little humorous how I can take hits in the dojo and at competitions, but one table could take me out so easily. Suoh showed up in front of my face as if he was examining me for any damage, but the words that left his mouth were ones that I hadn't been expecting.

"You're actually really quite pretty when you're wearing glasses…" It came out as if he were simply thinking aloud. No one paid much attention to what he had said at least I hadn't thought so until after Ootori handed me a glass of water and some Tylenol. One of the twins pulled my hair down from its ponytail and the three of them looked over my face. "Your hair is also much longer than I thought it was."

I was confused to say the least, but at least they waited until after the medicine had started working. The twins pulled me toward a back room and placed me in a chair that sat in front of a vanity mirror. "What are you doing?" I asked needing to know before they did anything. Unfortunately for me, they were keeping their mouths shut for once. They spun the chair so I couldn't see what was going on in the mirror, but I could still see them and feel what they were doing to my hair.

It was strange to me why they had gone and decided to curl my hair and put make-up on me. Even I never really did my hair or put make-up on. Though I had to admit that it felt a little nice to be fussed over, I just wanted to know why! But every time I would open my mouth to ask, they would find some reason for me to stop trying. As I was going to ask once again, they spun my around and I was in shock at my own reflection.

They had my hair in loose curls with the longer parts of my bangs held back in braids on either side of my head. But it was what they had done to my eyes that made me really surprised. There was only a thin line of eye-liner and a lightly applied bit of mascara with some gray eye shadow and yet, I had never seen the little bit of green that was in them pop so much. "I have to ask again though, why did you do this?" I asked without being able to look away from the mirror. One of them slipped my glasses back on and I was surprised to realize that Suoh had been right. I did look better with my glasses on.

"The boss said to."

"So we did."

In that brief moment, I kind of wished I knew who was who so I could thank them. I mentally slapped myself and wondered how hard I had really hit my head on that table. I had never actually willingly thanked someone and here I was wanted to do it twice in one day. I stood up from the chair and they took my hands, pulling me back out to the others.

Suoh stood up and froze when he saw me. I didn't know why. Though then again, I had frozen at my own reflection. He seemed to regain himself as the others stood next to him. I was a little surprised that Oki wasn't with them, but it didn't really matter either. Sure she was my best friend, but she really knew how to drive me insane. "So now that we know she actually has some look to her-"

I crossed my arms. "Excuse me?" I asked in disbelief of what he had just said. I walked over to Haruhi; she was probably the only one I thought was sane enough to be safe around in the room. "You're lucky you're supposed to be a boy. My face feels like it weighs ten pounds."

"We didn't even put that much on you!" The twins said as the showed up on either side of Haruhi. "And you look good, so what's the difference?"

Suoh broke between us and took my shoulders in his hands. "Now we just need to know more about you so we can figure out your type." I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea what he meant by my 'type'. "Kyoya, what do you know about our dog here?" I clenched my hands into fists; all I had to do was hit him if he said one more thing.

Ootori nodded as he flipped to a page in his notebook and began reading. "Toshie Kamio, class 1-B. Born October 30th to Matsuya and Miyo Kamio." I held up my hand telling him to stop there and I stepped out of Suoh's hold.

"Is this supposed to be the part where I stand here speechless as I look on in wonder as to how you knew all of that? My personal life isn't exactly a secret and it hasn't been since the first time my father was thrown in prison." I didn't want to be a part of anything that involved them and I didn't know why I thought I did. Being with the kids of the wealthiest families and the honor student that came from a modest family, but made a name for herself in the most prestigious schools in the country. I didn't fit in with the seven of them and I knew that. It was a mystery as to why I thought I wanted to.

"Please allow me to finish that up for you, Ootori-senpai," I said as I walked over to gather my things. "My parents were never around and since I was old enough to walk, whenever they were around they always said how they had me so they'd have an heir 'just in case'. I raised myself pretty much and before I was ten I had nearly gotten kicked out of school twice for my mouth. I didn't want to be 'that kid', so I tried to fix it by finding a way to channel my frustrations at my parents into something productive. I found Kendo; yadda yadda yadda." I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I was making a scene, but it didn't even matter to me. I looked right at Suoh. "Is that what you wanted to hear? About how I had many things about myself that I'm trying to fix before they get out of hand? Or about how screwed up my family life is?"

I turned away from them and before I left the room, I said, "And Ootori-senpai, post the pictures wherever you want. They aren't anything I haven't had to live with before." I opened the door and walked out. I heard Haruhi call after me, but I kept walking. She was sweet and probably someone I _should_ be friends with, but I didn't deserve to be friends with her.

A tear ran down my cheek and I tried my hardest to keep in the others that I felt threatening to escape. I didn't want Sensei to see me crying when I made it to the dojo. Not that he hadn't seen it before, but I didn't want to explain why I was this time. I walked in and it was then that I realized I was only in my socks and I had left the shoes at the club. It didn't even matter to me. I pulled off the socks and rolled them up as I put them into my bag.

It was quiet in the dojo and that was weird for a Kendo dojo. I didn't even bother changing out of the maid outfit as I picked up a _shinai _and stood in front of a practice dummy. This was always the one time when I didn't have to hold back; when my opponent couldn't actually get hurt, but I would be lying if I said I hadn't broken a _shinai_ or two in the past. I was going all out against the dummy, I hadn't realized that Sensei was behind me until he said something. "What got you mad this time?"

I merely shook my head as I beat the dummy. I wasn't even practicing anymore; I was just trying to get out any negative feelings and there were a lot of those. "Nothing, I'm not mad. Why would you think that I was?" I emphasized each word with a hit to some part of the dummy. He placed his hand on my shoulder and I stopped and put my arms down, dropping the _shinai_ in the process. "Maybe I should have tried boxing when I was a kid. I think I'd be more cut out for it," I tried to joke.

"That may be true, but then you'd still be the mouthy ten year old you were then." I looked at him. I was surprised that he had said that. It was one of the more encouraging things I had ever heard him say to me.

I sighed. "I can't promise that I'll pick up any extra discipline from Morinozuka-senpai, but I'll try harder that I have been… try being the keyword there." Sensei nodded and offered me smile. I smiled back and picked up the _shinai_ to return it to its place.

"There is one thing that I have to ask though, Kamio." I nodded and he continued. "What's with that outfit?" I merely laughed and figured it would probably be better if he didn't know.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Shinai <strong>_**– bamboo sword used in Kendo**

* * *

><p><strong>Sooooo... How are all of you pretty people? ^.^ Here is chapter 3 and I'm thinking about the next chapter being in Mori's POV, or someone's other than Toshie's. But that's just a head's up for next time~<strong>

**Hehe, I just looked up from my computer screen for the first time in two hours and I was surprised to see the sun peeking through the window... And know you all also know how long I stay up til... Well this is a bit embarrasing. **

**Megan :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

She left the room, more than clearly upset. Haruhi called after her and started toward the door, but I placed my hand on the girl's shoulder to keep her still. Toshie needed time by herself right then. I had never even heard her mention anything about her family in the four years I had known her and here she was mentioning it in probably the worst possible situation. Sure I had heard about the troubles her family had, but never from her and I never asked her about them.

Haruhi looked up at me, "Will she be okay, Mori-senpai?"

I had to think about that for a moment. Toshie was probably in the dojo already beating something with a _shinai_. It seemed that that's what she would do when she was upset, at least that's how I saw it to be when I would see her as I left. I nodded in response to the question. "Yeah."

Mitsukuni held his bunny close to his chest and looked down at it. "Kyo-chan, don't put those pictures anywhere. She doesn't deserve that. To-chan just needs some friends, you know?" My cousin was always good at reading people and he was usually right when he said something about why someone acted the way they did. Now that I thought about it, really the only people I ever saw her around when she wasn't in the dojo were Oki and Satoshi.

"Uh… what's wrong with Toshie?" Her voice surprised me, but I looked over toward the door calmly. Oki had been stopping by the host club more often than usual; I just figured it was because her friend was working here. "She seemed fine before I left…"

Tamaki took her hand and kissed it as was per usual when he came face to face with a girl. "May I ask which way she went?" Oki seemed to be speechless as she looked at him with her face reddening. She started to point behind her as she moved her mouth without any words being able to escape.

"She was heading outside. Probably home, or something. Toshie looked pretty upset, I think that was the first time I saw her cry actually."

She was crying? Tamaki turned to face all of us as we stood behind him. "We have to go apologize," he said with his head down. "But we shouldn't intrude if she's at home." Mitsukuni looked up at me. We both knew she wasn't home, but at the same time, we weren't really sure if we should tell him where she actually was. By the time any of us got there, she would probably be at least a little calmer or brandishing some sort of weapon. Either way, no one would be in too much trouble.

I nodded to my cousin and he looked at Tamaki. "To-chan's at the dojo." Everyone looked at him with surprise clear in their eyes, except Kyoya. He looked as though he already knew where she was and maybe he did.

"What makes you say that, Honey-senpai?" Haruhi asked.

He smiled at the brunette. "That's where she goes when she's upset. Takashi and I have seen her a few times." Tamaki headed through the door without another word and somehow, we all ended up following him until he made it to the doors of the dojo.

He opened them and went in. It was obvious that someone was in there from the sound of a single _kiai _being made. She was skillfully practicing all she knew before just beating the practice dummy senselessly. And I think it was seeing her do that, that made Tamaki stop moving and stare out of fright. Toshie was definitely dangerous if she ever needed to be and she had a mouth on her, but she wasn't altogether violent.

Sensei came up behind her and they talked for a moment before she went to put the _shinai_ back. That seemed to give Tamaki the confidence to go up to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, startling her and causing her to flip him over her shoulder. "You scared me half to death, Suoh-senpai!" she shouted as she saw who it was. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"We came to apologize," Haruhi said when Tamaki went to sit and sulk in a corner. A small smile tugged at the corners of Toshie's mouth.

"Don't apologize. I overreacted."

Sensei looked over at Tamaki before looking at Toshie. "Forget boxing, you should have tried judo." I had to hold back a laugh as I thought of her trying judo or boxing. Actually, she would probably be very good at either of them. There was no doubt that she had the skill.

Toshie laughed, it was a sound that I barely ever got to hear. It suited her though. "Thanks Sensei," she said as she headed toward the door. "And I appreciate the apology guys, but it's not needed. I should really get home." She didn't even wait for anyone to say anything in protest before gathering her things and leaving.

We all kind of looked at each other as she left. I hadn't expected a different reaction, she had been upset and now she was being way too nice about being upset. It was her. Not that I've been paying attention to her or anything, I just notice these things.

"You have your work cut out for you, Morinozuka. She has a lot of emotions just trapped within her. It would make sense that she would need to talk back and yell and come here almost every night. I'm surprised that this dummy's still in one piece after all she's done to it." Sensei's words surprised me. Everyone in the dojo knew that he was actually quite fond of her, and that was why he was so much harder on her than the rest of us.

I nodded to him and Mitsukuni pulled me out of the dojo saying how it was getting late and that my father would be worried if I was too late again. As we walked, I noticed Toshie sitting outside on a bench looking up at the sunset. In that setting, you wouldn't have thought she was capable of the temper she had. Then I noticed something else. She was crying. I wanted to comfort her, but she really didn't seem like the type to want anyone to see her cry.

So, I would pretend that I didn't see. At least until she shows me willingly.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, to start out, I'm super sorry about the shortness and after the shortness, I almost feel bad asking for a favor from all of you. <strong>

**Recently, I've gotten into roleplaying on Gaia and I was wondering if any of you absolutely amazingly wonderfully gorgeous people would be willing to join? We're short on hosts and they are a crucial part of the roleplay. If you're interested, let me know in a review or send me a PM on gaia if you already have one. My username is BlackButterflyIllusions. **

**We need a Kaoru, Honey, and Kyoya. There's also a spot open for a female OC that will be paired with Honey. Please don't be shy and please let me know if you're even slightly interested. If you want, you could do more than one. Like if you want to do both twins or both Honey and Mori. Like I said, please let me know. **

**And If you could see me right now, I'd be down on my knees literally begging! **

**My next update will also be longer, this has nothing to do with how many people are interested or not, I just don't like posting such short chapters. **

**Thank you so much everyone! I love you all tons~ (and Meghan if you tell me you're interested I'll kick you.)**

**Megan :)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I've learned something over the past two weeks. It was something that I never in a million years thought that I would ever willing admit to even myself. Senpai really wasn't all that bad. He (of course) knew what he was doing, but I was actually able to learn from him. Usually anyway.

"Good job, Toshie," he said after practice that day. I was surprised that he had said that. Something about him had seemed to change too. Not that I knew what it was, but I wanted to know. I looked at him and gave a small bow of thanks before heading to the locker room.

We had to cut things short today since I had to be home for when Dad gets out of prison today. I don't even know what he was in for this time, but I guess it didn't really matter since he'd be back in by the end of the year. It was always the same. He'd do something stupid, get put in jail, get out and stay legal for a few months, then right back in the slammer.

I showered off and as finished and wrapped myself in my towel, I simply stood in one place. I didn't want to go home; I didn't want to see that man and have to pretend for the cameras that I was happy he was home. Would Oki want to do something with me today so I wouldn't have to see him? Without even getting dressed, I nearly ran to my bag and pulled out my phone. My fingers punched in the number I knew by heart and I held it to my ear, listening to the rings. "Hey, this is Oki. I'm busy right now, probably sleeping or with the Host Club. Maybe even doing homework, but either way, I can't get to my phone. Leave me a message!" There was a kissy sound and then the beep telling me to start talking.

"Hey Oki, I was wondering if you'd want to do something today. Maybe even go shopping? Anyway, call me back." I hung up and gently tossed the phone back into my bag and pulled on my clothes: a lime green cami, a gray hoodie from my original dojo, and blue jeans. As I slung my bag over my shoulder, I ran my fingers through my hair to get some of the tangles out and then pulled it up into a messy bun. Just to add to the "look" I was giving off, I took out my contacts and put on my glasses. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror and saw that I looked almost like I was ready for bed. If Oki was busy and I did have to go home, there was no way I was going to dress up for either of those people.

My feet led me out of the locker room and toward my shoes that were placed at the entrance of the dojo. I sat down and pulled them on without really thinking. All I really knew was that I was in a good mood until I remembered my dad. I looked around me and saw Satoshi leaning against the wall. He must have noticed me notice him because he walked over to me and sat down. "You look upset," he said as a greeting. "Like you're at war with yourself."

Was I? Maybe. I didn't even know. A sigh escaped my lips and I looked at him as I left my shoes untied and barely on my feet. "My dad's getting home today and I don't really want to see him. Oki's not answering her phone, so I'm stuck." I always felt so comfortable talking to Satoshi, it was strange. I wouldn't even be able to tell Oki some of the things I tell this boy.

He seemed to think for a moment. It really was strange to see him quiet and thinking, but it was kind of nice at the same time. "Maybe you should come to my place? Or we could do something somewhere else?" He seemed so unsure about himself just then and it was even stranger than him being quiet. This boy was always so confident.

I nodded and smiled before going back to my shoes. "Sure, it could be fun." His confidence seemed to some back after that and in a matter of seemingly moments, we were on our way to his house.

And as it turns out, it was a terrible idea. Oki was over… and she was with Senpai. I didn't even know she really liked him and yet, there they were, right in front of me in the kitchen. My jaw was nearly on the floor and neither of them seemed to notice me. Satoshi noticed my reaction though and took my hand as he led me through their large traditional house and toward their home dojo. I went through the motions of slipping off my shoes again and he handed me a _shinai _as he directed me toward a dummy.

The very first thing I did was imagine it as Senpai and I hit it right over the head repeatedly. Why did seeing them affect me so much? I dropped the _shinai_ and simply stood there. "Maybe I should have just gone home." A hand went on my shoulder and before I knew what was going on, I was on my knees and my eyes were stinging.

"Toshie…" his usually lively voice said almost cautiously. I looked over my shoulder at him. He seemed to not know what to say as he simply looked at me. I shook my head and stood up. Satoshi found his words before I could tell him that he didn't have to say anything. "Did that really bother you that much?"

I shook my head again. "No, of course not. It's just been a long day and seeing that my best friend blew me off for your brother didn't help anything." What I should have said was yes, that it did bother me that much, but I couldn't.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Takashi<strong>_

Oki had asked if she could talk to me about something and there was no way I could just say no. We had left the others and she told them that we would be back shortly. "How do you feel about Toshie?" she asked out right. The question had taken me off guard and I didn't know how to answer. Toshie was a good Kendoka and she knew what she was doing. But that didn't tell anything about how I feel about her, not really anyway.

The girl in front of me seemed to take my silence as an answer I hadn't even really considered. "You like her, don't you," she accused. My jaw fell and yet, I couldn't easily deny it. Had I acquired feelings for the mouthy red-head? "It's not a terrible thing. Toshie needs more people that care. The problem is that she doesn't know how to tell when people care about her."

"What do you mean?" It was the only thing that I was able to ask in that moment. I was surprised that it had taken someone else to tell me how I felt and be right about it.

Oki smiled. "She's stubborn and represses her feelings until they blow up inside of her. And she has feelings for you that mean more than you simply being her senpai. The problem is that she doesn't know it yet."

Somehow, that conversation led to us being at my house and skipping the rest of club hours. Oki was telling me all about how we could make Toshie realize her feelings, but I wasn't really listening. At least, not until I heard Satoshi come in along with said girl in tow. I acted as if I didn't see her and Oki did the same. It felt wrong though and I wanted to at least acknowledge that I knew she was in the room, but Oki said, "If she sees us, she'll feel jealous. She won't know why and she won't realize it's jealousy, but she'll feel it."

I simply nodded and before I knew it, the two were gone and Oki was talking about how she wanted to go see if her friend was okay. It was amazing how much this girl could talk.

Wanting to know if Toshie was okay was nagging at my mind though and I couldn't really take it anymore. Satoshi knew that when Toshie was upset, she liked to beat things up and he would have most likely taken her to the dojo. Only, I hadn't been expecting to see what I saw when I slid open the door.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Toshie<strong>_

Satoshi had pulled me into a hug and I was surprised, shocked even. "Satoshi?" I asked quietly. I had never thought that he would do this, no matter how upset I was. He didn't say anything and I realized that was probably the best. The boy was only a year younger than me, but I still never would have thought that he would have any sort of feelings for me.

He looked at me and before I knew what was going on, his lips were on mine. My eyes were wide open in shock and my lips stayed still as his moved. I was frozen. When he pulled away, I still couldn't move. "I like you, Toshie." I wanted to say something sarcastic and something that was almost mean, but this was _Satoshi_ we were talking about here. The same Satoshi that I had to help get gum out of his hair just last week because he had blown too big of a bubble, that Satoshi should not have been kissing me.

I regain control of my body and I stood up. "I should really get going," I said and grabbed my shoes, heading toward the door. That was when I saw him. The one that had been with my best friend only minutes ago. I couldn't look at Senpai and merely brushed past him as I made my way through the house and out the front door. I'd rather face my parents than Senpai at this point.

Once I was off of the Morinozuka property, I put my shoes on and walked the rest of the way to my house.

As expected, there were cars and cameras outside of my house as I walked up and Mom rushed over to me. She hugged me and kissed me on my cheek. "Aren't you so happy that Daddy's going to be home today?" she asked me in her over happy voice.

I wasn't in the mood to be nice, so I looked right at one of the reporters and said, "No, I'm not. In fact, "Daddy" can stay right where he is for all I care." I made my way through the camera and people and went into my house, right up to my room.

Kuri was laying on my bed, curled up on my pillow and purring in her dreams. I scratched her lightly behind her ears and kissed her head. "What was that?" Mom shouted as she burst into my room.

Without looking at her, I said, "What was that? Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" The sound of her heels clacking on the floor of my room made me only want to say something else to her, but I refrained.

"You made a fool of both your father and I!" Her pitiful grammar made me cringe, but I didn't correct her. "Do you realize how it's going to look when they write about how you don't care about your father?" I looked at her then. Her face was a horrid scowl that showed off every wrinkle on her face and it added a ridiculous number of years to her.

"If you scowl like that, your wrinkles will only get worse." Her hand went to her face, but her expression didn't change. "And frankly, I don't care what people think, so try a different argument."

That was when my cheek stung and the sound of a harsh slap sounded throughout my room, causing even Kuri to wake up and hiss. "Watch your mouth. That is no way to speak your mother." Her tone was quiet, but it was harsh as well. I honestly wondered if she knew that I could use just about anything in my room as a weapon against her and it would be considered self-defense.

"Now you call yourself my mother? Seems like you only talk like that when there are reporters around, Mrs. Kamio." Instead of saying anything else or slapping me again, she turned around and left the room. I could hear her voice through my closed door as she reassured everyone that I was simply stressed from school and didn't know what I was saying.

Yeah, that was it.

Kuri climbed onto my lap and rubbed her head against my arm. I hugged the cat close to my chest and listened as she purred loudly. "Is it bad that you seem to be the only person I can rely on? And you're not even a person." She gave me a small meow and though it sounded like a "no", I took it as a "yes".

* * *

><p><strong>Hey peeps~ Long time, no post. I know and I apologize from the bottom of my toes to the tip of my nose! I got busy with school and other things, but on the bright side, a review from a very nice reviewer made me realize how much I missed this story. I would give you a shout-out, but I don't remember your penname and as much as I hate to admit it, I am much too lazy to check... You should know who you are though... maybe. (You said that this story deserves more than to be forgotten about... or something along those lines) I realized that you were right. <strong>

**Anyway, I hope everyone liked this chapter and since it is now midnight and I have been writing this chapter for the last two and a half hours, I'll stop and go to bed so I can be nice and refreshed for school tomorrow or technically later since it is now Monday. I'll stop rambling now though ^-^**

**Love you all~  
>Megan :) <strong>


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next day at school, my face was still stinging from the slap my mother had given me and I still had a headache that had resulted from my parents lecturing me on how I should always act like I want nothing more than for "Daddy" to be home with me and "Mommy" instead of in jail. I had wanted to argue with them, to tell them that I didn't care about anything that they wanted me to do because they didn't care anything about me, but I kept my mouth shut as I had flashes of the look on Senpai's face when I practically shoved past him. He had seemed so shocked and then there was another emotion there that I couldn't even name if I tried.

"Hey, what happened?" Oki asked as soon as she walked into class that morning. She gently placed her hand on my sore cheek and rubbed it with her thumb. I knew that there was a red mark that was shaped like Mom's hand there, but no amount of makeup covered it up and I wasn't going to stay home, that would give them the satisfaction of thinking they won. So I had ended up washing my face off and possibly playing it off as an accident from Kendo practice.

I smiled at her. "Things got a little out of hand at Kendo yesterday. I'm okay though." She squinted slightly, knowing that I was lying, but not knowing why. If it had been a few years ago, she would have been on my back about it, but now, she figured that I'd tell her when I wanted her to know. And it was true. Never in my life have I been one to talk freely about my feelings and she understood that and was helping me get better about it. Oki nodded solemnly and went to her desk.

After school, I walked to the dojo hoping to avoid running into Satoshi. Yes, I wanted to talk to him about what had happened the previous day, but I just couldn't handle it yet. I needed more time to think about what to say. I know that I didn't think of him as anything more than a friend, a little brother even, so the fact that he had stronger feelings than that for me, made me feel a little weird.

I entered the doors and saw Sensei talking to Senpai. It instantly made me wonder what they were discussing, but I didn't want to interrupt, so I slipped my shoes off and headed for the locker room. "Kamio!" I heard Sensei call. I turned toward him and he waved me over.

I bowed. "Yes, Sensei?" He glanced at Senpai once and then looked at me fully. I wasn't sure if he was ignoring my cheek or staring right at it though, either way, I just wanted him to say whatever it was he wanted to say.

"You're techniques are still sloppy," he said bluntly. I simply bowed again, but said nothing. "You need more practice and that means you need to see Morinozuka outside of club hours."

I looked at Sensei. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, until the day before the competition, you will be living with the Morinozuka family." It amazed me how easily Sensei could say that and how easily Senpai must have agreed to it. _At least I know what they were talking about earlier. _There was really no arguing with Sensei once he put him mind to something.

"Whatever it is that you and Satoshi bet must be pretty important if you're going to this extreme," I said sounding defeated to even my own ears. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and turned to go back to what I had been originally doing.

Two and a half hours of practice later, I was completely and utterly exhausted. Never in my entire life had a practice kicked my butt so hard. The part that worried me was that it wasn't any harder than they usually were. In fact, it was easier.

I lied on the floor and was practically panting to catch my breath. "Are you alright?" his deep rarely heard voice asked. My eyes went up and looked at his face. He was kneeling next to me and I couldn't help but see the expression of yesterday. I nodded and placed my hands on the floor as I tried to sit up.

"I'm fine. Just… off, I guess." I wrapped my arms around my knees and looked at the floor. A rough hand that I knew belonged to him went to my arm and I couldn't look at the floor anymore. Everything seemed to be getting harder. Had it been a few months ago, I wouldn't have cared if my mother had slapped me, I wouldn't have cared that Satoshi kissed me. I would have passed them off as nothing and went on being my rude self. That all just meant one thing… Senpai was rubbing off on me. "Takashi-senpai…" I said quietly. His expression changed ever so slightly, but not enough where anyone from a distance would have noticed. It was probably to the fact that I hadn't used his last name.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do you like Oki?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Takashi<strong>_

"Do you like Oki?" she had asked as if it was a question that her life depended on. She seemed so weak today and that was one way I had never seen her before. I knew that she was more than capable of taking on at least ten people with her bare hands and even more with just her words. And that handprint on her cheek had become more prominent as the practice had gone on. I was curious about it, I wanted to know why someone would hurt her like that, but it wasn't my place to ask.

But that had nothing to do with the question. I had no feelings toward Oki other than those one would have toward a friend. If that even. I don't really know the girl except from the club and from talking to her yesterday. I shook my head. "Not like that," I replied.

She nodded slowly and then stood up. I was worried that she seemed so tired just from practice, usually she was always energetic no matter what she had just done. "I don't like Satoshi like that either. I think of him more as a little brother." I wasn't surprised by that, the way she had reacted to him made it more than obvious that she didn't return his feelings, but something about hearing the words come from her made it feel as though a large weight had been lifted from my chest.

Toshie walked away and into the locker room. I stayed kneeling on the floor near where she had been lying. It seemed like she wanted to say more, but I wasn't going to push. It was obvious that she had a lot on her mind.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Toshie<strong>_

I put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt after my shower and threw my bag over my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of my cheek in the mirror. It had gotten worse and it hurt more. It would probably be a bruise by tomorrow. With a sigh, I walked back out and went to put my shoes on. Senpai and Haninozuka-senpai were standing there and I gave them each a smile as I pulled on my shoes. "You're going to like living with Takashi, To-chan!"

Anything would be better than living with my parents. "I think I will too," I replied as I stood up. The smile that the small blond boy had been wearing turned into a look of seriousness. A chill went down my spine. "What's wrong Haninozuka-senpai?" I asked hesitantly. It didn't take me more than a second after the question was in the air to realize he was looking at my cheek. I smiled and waved my hand, "It's nothing. Don't worry, 'kay?"

As I walked away from them, I ducked my head down. I wanted to tell someone about what happened, but I didn't know who. I got into the car that would take me home and just stared out the window the entire time. _Living with Senpai…that should be interesting, right?_ "Kuri!" I said as the thought of the cat popped into my head. There was no way that I'd leave her home alone.

The first thing I did when I got home was run up to my room and searched my desk for the piece of paper that had Senpai's number on it. I had to call and make sure that it was okay I brought Kuri with me. When I found it, I hit the numbers into my phone, but realized that it would probably be easier just to text. _Hey, it's Toshie. Is it alright if I bring my cat lives with you too? She's well behaved and doesn't make messes and really just sleeps most of the time. _I hit send and went to packing up all of the stuff I would need to take with me. Clothes, toiletries, things of that nature.

When I was nearly done, my phone vibrated. _Yeah, that's okay. Mitsukuni and I are on our way to pick you up._ I looked at the brown cat and said, "You ready to go on a trip?" She yawned and cuddled up to my pillow. "You're so lazy!" I laughed.

I put her in her travel cage along with her favorite blanket and toy and took my three bags and waited in the front of my house for the two boys to take me to my temporary home. As I sat waiting, I stuck my finger into the cage and stroked her soft fur. "I think you'll like them, Kuri. They're pretty nice. I didn't much care for them at first, but just give them a little while."

"You didn't like us, To-chan?" I looked up in reaction to his childlike voice.

"That's not what I meant, Haninozuka-senpai. I just meant that… well actually. I guess it is what I meant, but I couldn't get enough of you now." He smiled and I did as well.

"Are you ready?" I looked at Senpai and nodded. He took my bags and I went to object, but really couldn't. I stood up and held Kuri's cage close to my chest. _I am definitely ready for this change._

* * *

><p><strong>I think that posts will be coming faster now... I'm getting back into the swing of things with this story and with the added distraction that takes up about 7 hours of my day (school). I know it's pretty short, but I like it fairly well. <strong>

**Did you all like it? ^-^**

**Love you all~  
>Megan :) <strong>


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

After a week of living with Senpai, I couldn't imagine ever having to leave. Everyone in his family got along with and obviously loved each other. It made me wish that I could stay with them forever. Even Kuri liked it there! She started acting like a playful kitten again, especially when it came to playing with Piyo and Pome. A few months ago, I never would have pegged Senpai as the animal lover he is.

I walked down the hall to the room where Senpai's tanuki and chicken lived. "Hello boys!" I called to them happily. As I placed the bowl of water I was carrying on the floor at my feet, they approached and started drinking. Then the door behind me opened at the exact time I started stroking Piyo's feathers. It amazing me how soft a chicken actually was. My head turned to see who it was that was in the room with me.

It was Senpai and he was holding a bowl of water. "I guess I beat you to it," I said to him with a smile. It was easier talking to him now that I've known him for a few months. And when it came to his emotions, I could sometimes pick up on them. Other times I still felt like a stranger. Which I guess I was technically.

He gave me a small smile in return. "Guess so." Each day, I found myself wanting to hear his voice more and more. Oki said it was because I was getting feelings for him. She was wrong though, he was just my senpai.

I stood up and looked at him. It wasn't hard to guess why he was a host, Senpai definitely had the looks for it, but that he joined for his cousin just proves that there isn't a selfish bone in his body. Seeing him for only five minutes would prove just how selfless he is. I mean, he barely knows me and he let me into his home. "Are you and your dad ready to get your butts kicked?" I asked as I hit the palm of my hand with my fist.

It was amazing that Akira Morinozuka was willing to help me improve. All of the Morinozukas were helping me in some ways.

Senpai merely shrugged before turning to walk out of the room. I reached for him and caught only his hand. What came over me in that moment felt awful, but I have no idea what it was.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Takashi<strong>_

I shrugged and was about to go to my room to change into my practice clothes when I felt small, rough, and cold hands go around one of mine. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought the belonged to Mitsukuni. Of course, his were a little smaller, warm, and almost always a little sticky.

"I'm sorry. I-I don't know what came over me," I heard Toshie say. She didn't let go though, and I didn't pull away either. Ever since Oki made me realize things, I had found myself thinking of this red-headed first year more and more. What it would be like to hold her hand, hold _her_ in general, to comfort her when she's sad, to kiss her…

She dropped her hands and I turned to look at her. Always so confident and yet always so unsure of herself, that's what I've known about this girl since the first time I met her. "I'll meet you in the dojo," I said before leaving. I glanced at her as I turned to go down the hall, she was kneeling down petting Kuri.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Toshie<strong>_

I sat on the floor of the dojo, my arms propping me up. I was ready to quit and just give up entirely, tell Satoshi that he won the bet. "Don't quit now, it was just getting fun," Akira Morinozuka practically whined. I laughed and secretly with my dad could be like this. He helped me up to my feet. "Seriously though, you're better than I thought you'd be."

My hands instantly went to my hips and the mouthy me began to bubble to the surface. But I pushed that part of me back down. "How'd you think I would be? I am second in the nation."

A smile crossed his face. "Honestly, I thought it was a fluke. Especially after the way you so skillfully fell to the floor before the end of the match." He hadn't said it meanly and even so, I realized that if he had said that to me before, I would have yelled something none too nice in reply. However, I simply stood there with my arms at my sides with my gaze on the floor.

I looked up at him and smiled. "I bet even Senpai couldn't master _that_ skillful of a fall!"

It was nearly time for dinner and that meant it as time for the three of us to disband and get ready to eat. I went to my room and riffled through my closet for a pair of jeans and could only come up with fuchsia skinny jeans. I held them up. "I'll just have to make due." I found a t-shirt that had a pink dinosaur with glasses and a bow tie that said "I heart nerds (for breakfast)." With those set to go, I went to take a quick shower.

The bathroom was a little down the hall from my room and it was different having to share a bathroom as opposed to having my own attached to my bedroom, but I couldn't say that I minded. I went in and closed the door behind me. Just as the water had filled the room with just the right amount of steam, I pulled my t-shirt over my head and placed it on the counter (as I've always done no matter where I was).

A knock sounded on the door just after I did the same with my sweatpants. "I'm in here!" I called. Mrs. Morinozuka's voice came through the door.

"I know, sweetie. When you're finished, could you take your clothes to the laundry room?"

"Sure thing!" She said thanks and I assumed walked away. I took my under clothes off and then stepped under the stream of the hot water, letting out a sigh in the process. Showers were always the best part of any day. They're so relaxing. Not that they are ever long enough for my taste, especially now that I was sharing this bathroom and though there were two others, that meant there was always that possibility of someone waiting on me to finish up.

And so, I hurried up and washed just about as fast as I could, then took the last few minutes to just stand there with my eyes closed.

"Dinner looks wonderful tonight, as it always does!" I complimented as I sat down at the table. Everyone except Satoshi was already present and were all talking amongst themselves. And by that, I mean, Senpai's parents were talking to each other.

"Thank you, so much. You're such a sweet girl," Mrs. Morinozuka complimented.

I felt myself blush ever-so slightly. "You wouldn't have said that if you met me before your son here rubbed off on me," I said with a laugh. Said son was looking at me when I went to look at him. We smiled at each other. "I guess Sensei knew what he was talking about."

"Nah, I still think Taka's going to win," Satoshi added as he sat next to me. "Sensei may be a wise man, but my bro's got you beat."

"I don't know, Satoshi. Toshie here may just have a chance," Mr. Morinozuka said in my defense. The look on Satoshi's face was priceless and if I had a camera, I would have used it. I pushed his jaw up to close his mouth. It was sweet that they were all so confident in me.

After dinner, I went outside to look at the stars. I had never actually done that before, but I wasn't tired and I didn't have any homework.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Takashi<strong>_

Toshie had wandered outside not long after the dishes from dinner were cleared away and Mom had told her that there was really nothing she could do to help out since she had them covered. I was curious where she had gone and despite my brain telling me to go to my room or anywhere other than where she was, my feet wanted to go to her. When I reached the back door, I could hear Satoshi talking to Dad about something and the water in the kitchen sink from Mom do the dishes.

I could see her walking to a large clearing where there were none of Mom's flowers and no trees. Toshie sat and leaned back lying down completely. Before I could even think, I was moving again. She didn't look at me when I was next to her, but a smile crossed her face. "Couldn't stay away, could you?"

I sat down. "Something like that." We didn't say anything, but it looked like Toshie was thinking about something pretty deeply.

"You saw me." I looked over at her and I had no idea what she meant. "That last day I was at the host club. You saw me on the bench." To hear her say that surprised me. I had no idea that she even knew I was there after she had left. "But I don't mind. I'd rather it be you than anyone else." She placed her hand on my arm; it was warm this time and felt smaller than it had earlier.

"Why?"

She shrugged from where she lay on the grass. "Because you're Morino- because you're Takashi-senpai." Her voice was low as she said, as if she was embarrassed to state something that was true. "And you let me into your home even though you barely knew me and after I was more than a jerk to you. Because you're taking your time to make a better Kendoka so I have a better chance at beating you in two and a half months." Toshie sat up and looked at me.

"Can I ask you something, Senpai?" I nodded. "Do you like anyone?"

I didn't really know what to say. Should I be honest or should I wait and keep it to myself? "It's alright if you don't want to tell me, we're not really that close anyway, so I understand. Plus you have the host club to think about, I'm sure it would be bad for business if it turned out one of the hosts had someone that caught their eye."

I took her hand that was still on my arm and cupped it in my hands. "I like _you_, Toshie."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Toshie<strong>_

Senpai likes… me? "Why? I mean, not that it's a bad thing or anything, but I'm really nothing special and you'd really have your pick of anyone from school and they're all better than I am and come from more respectable families and-" I felt his large hand lift my chin up gently and then his warm lips were on mine. Unlike with Satoshi, I didn't want to pull away. My arms went around his neck as our lips moved against each other and he pulled me closer to him.

We broke apart for air. "I think… I like you too."

* * *

><p><strong>I would like to start by apologizing about the long wait... I've had this chapter mostly written for a long time and I've been too lazy to type it. I am horribly lazy when it comes to typing things up from paper. <strong>

**Also, there will be a total of three more chapters to this story. I know, it's so short! But I think it's going to be enjoyable~**

**:C I have to go back to school tomorrow... I don't wanna! But only five more months of high school ^u^**

**Hopefully every has had a good new year so far and I hope it continues to be good or if it hasn't been to great, I know it'll get better!**

**Love you tons~  
>Megan :) <strong>


End file.
